Online gaming more popular than videos, social networks

Playing games remains the most popular category of online applications, even as video downloads and social networking surge. That’s the conclusion of a new study from Parks Associates.

According to the report, 34 percent of U.S. adult Internet users play online games on a weekly basis, while 29 percent watch online videos and 19 percent visit social networking sites.

The popularity of online video, however, is clearly on the rise with a year-over-year growth rate of 123 percent, according to the study. By comparison, online gaming grew 79 percent, while social networking grew 46 percent.

While focused on Internet usage, the consumer application trends detailed in the report clearly have implications for mobile application providers as well.

The question is, however, do usage numbers translate to revenues? It depends on how business models evolve to support online applications, according to the study.

“Unlike sites for social networking and video streaming, which rely solely on advertising revenue, casual gaming has more mature and heterogeneous revenue models, including web-based and in-game advertising, try-before-you-buy, subscriptions, and micro-transactions,” James Kuai, a research analyst at Parks Associates, said in a statement.